Kymin woke up the morning of the cookout in a particularly good mood. Things had been going so well the past few days. Him and Felix had been very good towards each other, probably to make up for those horrid past events, he thought. They'd even gotten the painting in the guest room and their room done, despite the fact that they'd been busy planning things for the cookout. They'd managed to get it all together and then some. Last night Christian had slept over, so of course, that had been a ball. Kymin didn't even care to think on how they couldn't adopt the boy. Instead he just enjoyed his time with his three boys. Yeah, Kymin was in a really good mood. But at the same time...he was extremely anxious. He wasn't sure what to expect as an answer. It was still early in the morning, approaching ten o'clock, and the black haired male was in the kitchen getting the things he'd need to use to cook in order. Vishnu was sitting at his bowl eating, and didn't seem like he was going to move anytime soon. The pup was probably still tired from their run a little while ago.

Felix had also had a good few days. With the painting and the addition of more pictures to the wall and all the invitations being sent out, Felix found himself in a good mood as well. Everything was falling into place without any trouble. Felix was in the bedroom making the bed, keeping himself busy in order to not bother or distract Kymin. On the other side was Christian, who was doing more jumping than helping. Felix smiled. "You're hyper," he commented. Christian stopped pouncing across the sheets long enough to stick his tongue out at Felix. "Your bed is bouncy," he giggled. The silver haired shinobi merely shook his head and swept the black haired child off the bed and into his arms. "Down you go," he said as he placed the boy on the floor. "How about you go see if there's a movie you and the other kids would like to watch," he said. Christian nodded and hurried off, leaving Felix to continue his work in peace.

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Once Kymin heard that Christian was in the living room, and not in the bedroom with Felix, he put down the cooking utensil he'd been holding and started towards the bedroom. He gave a small grin to the child as he passed. It looked like Christian was digging through the movies. He wondered if that was okay. Well, you know what, of course it was. They'd clean it up later if they had to. Once Kymin entered the bedroom, he went over to Felix and gave his lover a brief kiss on the lips. "Hey angel," he greeted happily. "Ah, hey Felix...you're okay with people knowing we're together, right?" When he realized how bad that sounded, he gave an embarrassed grin and held his hands in front of him in defense as he tried to explain. "A-ah, what i'd meant was, if it's alright if I'm affectionate towards you in front of your friends, or if I should tone it down a bit."

In the beginning Felix was a bit iffy about being with Kymin, as any straight man would be, but now he didn't care. He loved Kymin and that was all there was to it. The shinobi smiled and kissed Kymin back. "No sir," he said. "Let's make the world jealous." He wrapped his arms around Kymin's waste. "Besides, you live with me and everyone knows that by now," he said as he kissed Kymin again. "Surely there has to be a reason, right?" Another kiss. "You could be my brother, but everyone knows I'm an only child too. No long lost brothers here." He kissed Kymin once more. "Besides, it'd be awkward to say you were my brother knowing all the things we've done." He winked at Kymin and then kissed him once more. "Anything else?"

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Kymin's eyes shined happily when Felix said they were gonna make the world jealous of them, and he tried to hide just how relieved he was. That was one anxiety gone. He gladly put his arms over his lover's shoulders when the guy wrapped his arms around his waist. He loved all these little kisses Felix was giving him. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly at that statement about how weird it'd be to say they were brothers, all things considered. "Hmhm, by the end of this cookout, every couple's gonna wish they were us. I'm gonna make sure of it," he grinned, placing one last kiss on his lover's lips, before pulling away and shaking his head lightly. "Nope. I'll let you know if I have anymore questions. Ah, but with the way you're answering my questions, I might just end up thinking up trivial questions," he chuckled, leaning his forehead lightly against Felix's.

This had been all Felix wanted. A few days of peace where he didn't have to worry about every issue that was going on. Nopes, all he had was now, here with Kymin. He smiled as his boyfriend said that everyone would want to be them. "I guess so," he said as he closed his eyes. He gave a small nod. "Your trivia will have to wait, we have to get ready." He backed away from Kymin after giving him a hug. He then looked around the room. It was good enough so he was going to move on. He did however wonder if people would assume him and Kymin had adopted Christian since the kid's photo was on their wall. Christian had asked about it yesterday and Felix had been at a bit of a loss, but had managed an answer. "You need help in the kitchen?"

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Kymin couldn't even give a mock pout when Felix said that it would have to wait, that they had to get ready. He was too excited. "Um, actually, you wanna help me set up a couple tables in the back?" he asked with a smile. He could do it himself, but he wanted to spend time with Felix. He had the ring box hidden in the kitchen, so he wanted to keep his lover out of there at all costs, just in case. It was hidden well, with a jutsu no less, but he wasn't going to take any chances. This was one surprise that Kymin was hell bent on not allowing to be ruined.

"Sure," he said with a smile. He started for outside, glancing at Christian who was making quite the mess with the DVDs. He shook his head and then looked to Kymin. "You know, I wasn't going to ruin your cooking," he said with a snicker. Felix wasn't any good at cooking and Kymin knew it, so he was just teasing the guy. Once outside he stretched and smiled. "We sure did pick a perfect day," he said with a nod. "Should have turned this into a pool party, but we can always have one in the summer," he concluded. He went over to the nearest table. "How shall I set it up?"

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Kymin chuckled when he saw the little mess in the living room. The kid was absolutely adorable. "I've barely even started yet. I'm going to wait until people start getting here before I start grilling. The only thing I've actually even started are the beans, so there's no possible way you could've messed me up anyways," he chuckled, holding his lover's hand for the short walk from the bedroom to the backyard."Yeah we did. It's gorgeous out," he agreed with a nod. "I just need the plates and napkins and stuff set up, how you do it is completely up to you," he said. "I have to go stir the beans," he smiled, walking back into the kitchen.

Felix was glad for the small contact. Simple things like holding Kymin's hand made him smile. It was nice to smile. It was nice to smile because of the Kymin. Nodding slowly he started to place the plates out, glad that that the wind wasn't blowing. That would have been a tragedy. "So, we have to make sure to take lots of pictures today," he said. "Even if people complain," he chuckled. Falling silent afterwards he worked on setting the tables since Kymin had to go inside where he would have ran into Christian who was looking fairly confused at not finding Felix in the bedroom. The small child decided to check outside and there he found Kymin entering the house. "I found a movie," he said cheerfully as he slowly made his way out the door and down the stairs. "Felix, I found a movie," he said as he held the movie above his head.

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

It was a little while longer until people started showing up. The invites had said that the cookout started at twelve, so Kymin wasn't too worried that no one showed up until about quarter after that. As was normal for Kymin, he went ahead and started up some casual conversation with them all after he was introduced. He was really glad when kids started showing up, so Christian had someone to play with. By twelve thirty Lain came dragging Mori along with June following after them. Vishnu, of course, immediately went over to play with the older, and bigger, dog. When one o'clock rolled around, Kymin was left wondering if Mickey was going to come with his girlfriend. The guy hadn't shown up yet, so yeah, he was curious. Oh well, for now he was busy grilling the food.

Felix smiled when Christian said he'd found a movie. "Good job kiddo. Come help me with the cups," he offered. Once they were done setting up and people started flowing in, Felix happily introduced Kymin to each person. He couldn't help but laugh when he saw Lain and Mori come in. He heard Mori say something about, "They're not going to be mad if we're late, we run an orphanage." He swore that was Mori's excuse for everything. Somewhere along the lines Felix lost track of Christian once the child had found friends to play with. He spotted Vishnu traveling over to June and then him and Kymin got separated after a while. Felix wasn't worried about it because he'd found Kade sitting at the end of a table by himself. Felix happily went to make conversation.

Mickey and Julia were late. You'd think it would be Mickey's fault, but it was actually Julia's. She'd gotten to the Crested late and had insisted on freshening up before going to Felix's cookout. On arrival Mickey gazed around at all the party. He'd come to the conclusion that this was some sort of evil scheme conjured up by those two. Felix never held parties. Next to him, Julia was dressed in a white dress and slippers. Her brownish-blond curls fell around her curls perfectly and her dark blue eyes shinned at the sight of so many people. Taking Mickey's hand she started forward into the group of people.

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Kymin glanced to the gate every now and then to see if anyone new was coming in. There were more people here than he'd expected, so while he didn't keep count, he at least knew a few people were missing. He didn't know where Felix had gone until he looked around and grinned when he saw who his lover was talking to. See, even Felix couldn't keep his eyes off. When the black haired male saw Mickey come in with a girl, his eyes lit up. Putting a few cooked hotdogs and hamburgers on a plate to the side of the grill, Kymin gave the blond bartender a wave and a smile. He'd been in a good mood lately, and he wasn't going to let this guy ruin it. Besides, Mickey had a pretty girl with him, and Kymin wanted to meet her. She looked friendly enough, anyways.

"He's waving at you," Julia said in a velvety voice. Mickey turned and frowned. Of course it would be Kymin. "Come on," he said, leading her over to the guy. "Hello Kymin," he said in a moderate tone. "This is Julia, my girlfriend. Julia, this is Kymin, he's Felix's friend." Julia was much more exciting than her blond boyfriend. "Hello," she said as she held her hand out to Kymin. She gave a small curtsy. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Julia was a very lively girl who enjoyed the simple things in life. What she saw in Mickey was beyond everyone who knew they were together.

Felix and Kade were talking about ninja stuff. It was about all the two could relate to, so that was their main topic. Occasionally their conversation would sway or they'd be interrupted. Neither seemed to care. Felix wasn't even worried about what Kymin was doing anymore. The guy could take care of himself. Sipping from his cup he knew he'd eventually have to find the guy and formally thank everyone for showing up. Right now he was going to enjoy his drink and conversation.

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Kymin smiled when the two came over. "Hey Mickey." He grinned when the guy said he was Felix's 'friend'. "Boyfriend, actually," he corrected. If this hadn't been Mickey's girlfriend, he probably would've been a romantic and kissed the back of the girl's hand. As it was, he smiled and shook her hand instead. "Nice to meet you as well," he smiled. He'd been right, this girl was a treat. She was cute, and nice. How the hell did Mickey score with her? In the dead center of her eyes, he noticed also, was a rather nice flamingo pink that the black haired ninja thought suited her rather well. "Hey, why don't you guys go grab a plate and get some food, and a drink while you're at it, there's plenty," he offered with a smile.

Why was Mickey not surprised to hear that. Boyfriend. He'd never pegged Felix to be that type of guy. Julia only other hand was a bit shocked. "Oh, he's such a ladies man," she giggled childishly. Her face glowed a bit red in embarrassment but soon faded. "Thank you Mr. Kymin," she said with a smile. "Your party is very lovely and so are you," she said with a small wink. She took Mickey's hand and started off. "Let's go get something to eat and then find Felix, mkay?" Mickey rolled his eyes at Julia's comment. That man was nothing short of an ass, had she forgotten he was the one who'd broken his ribs? He shook his head. "Can we not visit him," he grumbled but let her lead the way nonetheless.

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Kymin grinned when Julia said Felix was such a ladies man. He wouldn't be surprised if the guy had flirted with her on a few occasions as well. "I used to be too," he chuckled with a shrug. That giggle was adorably cute. He waved his hand when she called him 'Mr'. "Oh god, please, it's just Kymin," he laughed lightly, his green eyes glowing in amusement. He chuckled when she winked at him, giving the two of them a wave. "Enjoy the party," he called as they walked off. His smile widened a bit at Mickey's grumbling, which could barely even be heard over the music. The black haired ninja looked around. It seemed like everyone was here. Turning off the grill, Kymin took the last few pieces of food off and placed them on the plate, since there was already plenty of food cooked anyways. Closing the lid to the grill, Kymin made his way towards the back door of the house. He had to grab a little something while he was in there. He figured, hey, he'd wait for Felix to say something, like thanking everyone for coming, or that little announcement he'd been going to make, or whatever, before he did anything. God though, he was feeling incredibly nervous all of the sudden.

When Felix spotted the familiar curls of Julia's hair in the crowd, the shinboi gave a smile. "Kade, do you mind if I go see someone," he asked. The blue haired shinobi shook his head and Felix got up and approached the couple as they were taking a seat. "Hello Julia," he greeted as he gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek which she returned. Yes, that's how close they were in terms of friendship. That and she found Felix's old fashioned personality fascinating. "Oh, Felix, it's been forever," the girl informed him. Mickey sat beside her making it clear he didn't want to conversate. Felix didn't care. "Mickey introduced me to Kymin. He's got a lovely face." The silver haired shinobi responded immediately. "I know, that's why I'm dating him." That made the female giggle lightly. "How did two ladies men end up together," she asked. Felix moved closed to whisper into her ear. "I'll tell you later." He then gave a small wave before heading off to look for the subject of most of his topics this afternoon.

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Kymin came out of the kitchen with the ring box hidden in the pocket of his jeans. By a jutsu, of course, because the bulge it would've made would've been far too noticeable to just walk around without anyone questioning. Nope, no chances were being taken this day. When he spotted Felix, he felt his heart immediately start racing as he grinned and waved to his silver haired lover. It had been a long time since he'd been this nervous and excited about anything. He gave Felix a light kiss. "Hey love," he greeted with a smile.

Felix smiled when he spotted Kymin. "Hey," he said after the kiss. "I want to go ahead and greet everyone. Anyone who hasn't shown up is just up the creek without a paddle." He chuckled at the horrible saying and then took Kymin by the hand. "Oh and I want to take you with me," he said. "It'll be short, I promise. You're probably starving." He titled his head. "Do you mind sitting with Mickey and Julia," he asked. "I heard you met them, but I figured we could just talk a while. If not we can always sit with Kade. Or Lain and Mori."

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Kymin smiled when Felix said he wanted to greet everyone. Ah, so it was coming so soon. Oh god.... All of the sudden the black haired male was having second thoughts about this. This was so nerve-wracking, but he was managing to smile through it. When Felix took him by the hand, he followed along with a smile. "I can sit with Mickey and Julia." He leaned in to whisper to Felix with a grin. "I don't know how a girl like her ended up with a guy like Mickey," he chuckled, pulling away and looking around. "And I'm fine, I can wait a little while longer to eat. Take your time," he nodded.

Felix smiled. "Everyone does," he responded. "She wants to know how the two of us ended up together too. Maybe we can exchange stories." Once near the radio he cut the music. "Excuse me everyone, can I have your attention for a brief moment." When everyone had turned around Felix smiled lightly. "Me and Kymin would like to thank you all for coming to the party today, especially on such short notice." Someone in the back shouted. "Ya think, I had to agree to help with laundry, dishes, and watching the kids to get here." Felix smirked. "It's worth it though, right?" "Hell yeah, Felix Kuriyama throws a party, it'd better be worth it." The group of people laughed. Yeah, they were going to have to do this more often. When they had settled down Felix continued. "Again, thank you all for coming and for those who came in late, this guy here is Kymin. He is the single best thing that has happened to me in a very long time, so I just wanted to introduce him to you all. And before you ask Midori, yes, he's the reason I took off as a ninja." The pink haired captain grinned lightly, a bit embarrassed she'd been called out and even more so because she was going to ask. "Anyway, thanks again, enjoy the party, music, and food. And have a great time." Felix started the music back to playing and leaned over to kiss Kymin nice and slow. "See, I told you it wouldn't take long," he whispered against the other male's lips.

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Kymin grinned lightly, a bit embarrassed at being put in the spotlight like this. He couldn't really complain though, considering what he was about to pull...He gave a small wave and a grin as he was introduced to everyone, laughing a bit at the comments that were being thrown around. This was fun. He wondered how often things like this would happen. Felix would be known by the entire village by the end of this, and not in a bad way. The thought was too funny not to smirk at. The black haired male enjoyed the kiss once the music was brought back on, giving a small grin when Felix told him it wouldn't take long. "Hmhm, it's gonna take a bit longer angel," he said, pressing another brief kiss to his lover's lips before pulling away. "Stay right there," he prompted, going to turn the music off again, taking a deep breath as he did so. "Actually everyone, I'm going to have to ask you all to hold off for just another moment on enjoying the festivities," he grinned. "Now that I've been introduced properly and you don't all have to wonder who this odd man is, I'd like to say a few things, as well as make a request. First off, I'd like to thank you myself for coming, even though Felix already said it for the both of us. Second, if you haven't guessed it already, yes, I'm this ladykiller's boyfriend," he grinned, glancing at Felix. "And yeah, we're the best thing that has ever happened to the other. I probably wouldn't still be in the Crested if it wasn't for him, and I wouldn't have been able to meet so many lovely people," he chuckled. "And most importantly of this little announcement, is the request I wanted to make..." Instead of continuing to talk to everyone else, the green eyed ninja turned to Felix after pulling the ring box from his pocket, then got down on a knee and opened the box. "Felix Kuriyama...will you marry me?"

Felix blinked when Kymin spoke. "Okay?" He watched as the guy turned off the music and started to speak. Rocking back and forth Felix glanced over the crowd. He didn't think much of Kymin making his own announcement. Maybe the guy just wanted to be in the spotlight. He did however blush a bit been Kymin called him a ladykiller. Several of the women in the crowd got a bit rowdy at that and Felix didn't bother holding back a grin. Kymin was proving to be the life of the party indeed, but his words warmed Felix all the same. He was glad Kymin was feeling at home here, because not once had he ever taken the time to ask if the guy felt homesick. That sounded weird considering he was a ninja, but the previous lifetime he'd been in the Rock and now he was here in the Crested. When Kymin said there was something even more important, Felix wasn't sure what to expect, but nothing in the world could have prepared him for what was to come. The shinobi's eyes widened in surprise when Kymin got down on one knee with that box and asked him to marry him. The golden wedding band inside made Felix's heart skip a beat. He was speechless. Everyone was dead silent and Felix felt like all the weight of the world was being placed on his shoulders. This was a rather unexpected turn of events. Never had he been in this position before, and considering the circumstances he never expected to be. Where his world should have crumbled before him, Felix found himself oddly calm about this, aside from his racing heart. He looked down at Kymin then to the people waiting for his answer. Oh God, he had to give him an answer. Felix blushed a bright red, causing a few people to chuckle and giggle. Felix wondered if they'd figured out the reason behind his color change. Felix swallowed and tried to find his voice. "Do you even have to ask?" He leaned down and kissed the green eyed shinboi. "Yes, of course I'll marry you." That triggered a wave of cheers and congratulations.

________________________________________________________________________"The white soul can't protect you forever and the Flower will soon wither. The dragon knows the truth, and when the spirit of the water strikes it deal, darkness will rise and humanity will weep." ~Uriyuu

Kymin was well aware of the dead silence surrounding them, as well as how long the silence lasted overall. He couldn't say he was surprised that Felix was taking so long to say something, but the waiting was making him anxious. Well, even more anxious. When he finally got his answer, a large smile crossed over the male's face, and his green eyes shined brightly. All that waiting and stressing over how and when he would propose was all worth it for this moment. Kymin got off the knee and stood up, bringing Felix up with him so he could put the ring on the love of his life's finger. Kymin was too overwhelmed with joy to even bother being modest when he kissed Felix, bringing a hand to the other male's face. He didn't let it last long enough to be awkward for their guests, however, and leaned his forehead against Felix's when the kiss ended, grinning happily. "I love you Felix." He didn't much care for the cheers around them, all he cared for was the man in front of him. That beautiful, beautiful man in front of him that would from now on be the only person that mattered.